All posts by Keith Thompson

Stepping off the wheel

Career, Family

Stepping off the wheel in life means several things. It can refer to retirement or just taking a weekend or an evening with your family where work is not allowed.

Retirement causes me anxiety. The idea of not being able to do what I do for a living does give me pause. I suppose many male adults feel this way about work because it signals a big change in life. The term big change may be a huge understatement. It is one of the biggest shifts in a person’s life. It is a daunting thought to go from having a job, places to go, people to meet and objectives to accomplish to whatever it is you do when you retire. I will eventually get there, but it won’t be today.

Let’s focus on the term “stepping off the wheel” as it refers to time with your spouse or your family. If you have ever seen a mouse in a cage, he usually has a little wheel where he can get on and run for a while. Even a mouse gets off the wheel from time to time and doesn’t run. I know people that carry their iPhone to bed with them and answer emails until they go to sleep and sometimes even check their emails during the night. I think this type of person really needs to get off the wheel and learn when to shut it down.

Many years ago, I started turning the sound off on my phone and plugging it in to charge when I got home; I would leave my phone in the hallway. It was, and is, my way of stepping off the wheel, even if it is for a period of time. Now, we have iPads that also have our email on them, and even though our phones are turned off, we still see what’s going on when we open the iPad. I have learned myself well enough that if I look at the iPad at night and see an email from someone in business, many times I will not open the email at night because I know if I get my mind running in that direction, it is often hard to turn it off. Therefore, I save most business emails for the office the next morning and deal with them as needed.

At Christmas time, make a decision to step off the wheel when you get home and spend time with your children and your spouse. You will never have those moments again, and once they are passed, they will never be exactly like that again. Hopefully, you will have many similar moments, but it will never be exactly the same. So, hug your spouse, sit by the fire, watch an old Christmas movie (preferably White Christmas), and be in that moment. Get in the floor with your little children, cover up with a wubby, hold them close, and tell them you love them. Be with your family and be there mentally in those moments. Trust me when I tell you that in your later years in life, it will be those moments and those memories that you will cherish and not some business call or some deal you worked on.

Stepping off the wheel at family time is the greatest business decision you can make. KT

When all is well

Life

I believe you can tell a great deal about a person, their life, and their faith based on how they are when all is well in their life.

When things are difficult in life, people tend to seek God much more passionately and carefully watch how they live. When the bills are paid, children are healthy, job is going well, and life in general is all ok, you can see what people really believe based on how they live.

When all is well, there are a lot of people that seem to take it for granted, praying less and spending less time with God. The reason you ask? It’s primarily because they don’t think they need him as much when all is well; they can handle it themselves. When life becomes challenging is when you see most people on their knees and praying for God’s intervention and help.

I believe God finds a special favor in us when he sees us do the opposite: really seeking him and thanking him more when times are good than when times are bad. Think of a parent with a child. The child is real humble when they wreck the family car, get caught at something, or bring home bad grades. It is really great to a parent when they see the child happy and respectful when things are good versus only when things are bad.

So, if you are in a good place this holiday season and all is well with your soul, take a moment to really tell God how appreciative you are. I think it means more to him to hear you say it out of pure gratitude when things are good rather than out of fear and anxiety when things are bad. KT

Choose your examples well

Life

How many times have you looked up to people only to find out that they are not really the person you thought they were? Without naming names, there are Hollywood actors, politicians, pro golfers, preachers, business leaders, and even friends that turned out to be big ole fakes.

One such person I know was very “cool” and other people actually wanted to be like that person; then, one day the person fell off the grid and everyone became aware of who they really were. Many times, you will read about Hollywood actors and pro athletes who just simply fall off the wagon one day. Once you hear what they did, you realize that you should have never held them up as a good example.

I can think of several athletes and pastors that once they were exposed, they never were able to get it back together in life. This is important. Once they lost the respect of their peers and of themselves, most often they could never get it back. Satan tempts us in all areas, and it always seems so easy to just let go. What Satan doesn’t show you is what happens when you lose your own self-respect. The result is usually failure that you never come back from.

My point is to be very vigilant and purposeful in life because it is very fragile. The greatest emotion a person can develop is one of self-respect and hope for the future. When you lose one or the other of those emotions, many people find themselves lost in life. So, be aware and very focused as you make decisions in your life because more times than not, the small decisions can become the big ones.

Choose your examples well and never wish to be like someone else because there is only one you. If you believe anything you have ever heard, hear this: God did not make a mistake when he made you, your personality, your looks, etc. Never be intimidated in any area and think you are less than someone else. God knew before Jesus was born exactly where you would live in the world, exactly who you would be, and exactly why he made you like you are.

You don’t need idols, stars or athletes to look up to. Just make a decision to be who you are and never wish to be someone else or place other people as the example you want to become. All you need to become is you. KT

Understanding things

Career, Life

Albert Einstein said, “you really don’t understand something unless you can explain it to a six year old.” George Patton said, “you really don’t understand something unless you can keep it simple enough to explain to a private first class.” Both of these men said basically the thing: there is a difference between knowing something and understanding something.

I am not sure I agree with Albert Einstein’s opinion because I have tried to explain things to young children and have come up short many times. I am also not sure I agree with George Patton because I have also tried to explain things (the hotel business) to other like minded adults and have many times come up short. That said, these were two pretty smart people, and we should pay attention to their wisdom and what it means.

The space between your brain (the knowing) and your heart (the understanding) is only about 12 inches, but the difference between the two is enormous. It is one thing to know something and be able to talk about it in front of people, but it is an entirely different thing to understand it.

King Solomon of Israel was the wisest and smartest person that has ever lived, and he wrote the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes in the Bible. He was the smartest person because when he became king of Israel, he was only 12 years old. God told him to ask for anything he wanted and it would be granted to him. Again, he was only 12 years old. Solomon’s request was that God would give him an understanding heart. Think about that. He could have asked for anything in the world and that was the 12-year-old boy’s request. God granted him an understanding heart like no other person in history has ever had or ever will have. That is why the book of Proverbs is so real time, even today because the understanding it was written with transcends time.

Two of the smartest people I have ever known never went to college and one of them didn’t even graduate high school. So, what I am saying is it is not about education and head knowledge, rather it is about heart knowledge and understanding. Simply put, it is understanding what you know. As stated above, there is a huge difference between knowing something and understanding something.

When you pray for wisdom in a certain area, don’t forget to pray for understanding because the wisdom is the application of the understanding. When you understand something, you always know, but many times you can know something without really understanding it.

So, pray for wisdom and understanding because having simply head knowledge does you no good if you don’t know how to use it. KT

Christmas music

Life

I love Christmas music and find the music very therapeutic. It is because the music is based on joy, and the settings are about a holiday season centered around home and family. In my car, there is a hard drive to the music system where I can download CDs, and the music is stored without having to get the CD out and plug it in. I have all kinds of music on that hard drive, but included is about four full CDs of Christmas music.

Many times (you don’t really want to know how often) if I am traveling or had a stressful day, I will turn on some White Christmas or Silver Bells to relax me. Kind of strange, right? What I didn’t say is that I do this at all times of the year only when I am alone in the car. There is something about the Christmas season that seems to heal the soul, create hope in your spirit, and help you focus on the good in other people. It helps the return of joy and the hope of the future.

It is said that in combat zones during WWII that they played Christmas music throughout the hospitals and bases that were stationed overseas. They played the music because of the hope, joy, and sense of family that it builds in the human spirit. There was no better place to create those thoughts than on military bases overseas. They wanted the soldiers to know what they were fighting for because they knew that the hope of getting home was one of the greatest images a soldier could have.

So, I know that Christmas music is everywhere during this season of the year, but keep an old Bing Crosby White Christmas ready for when things don’t go so good in July and you need something to lift your spirit. Think of me when you play it because there is a good chance I will have it on as well. KT